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LAKE COUNTY, FL — A Lake County man has been arrested for digging up gopher tortoises to take home and eat.
On Monday, 79-year old Nathaniel Harris Sr. was caught digging for the tortoises near Highway 44/46A in Sorrento, after police got a call.
Deputies found two gopher tortoises alive in Harris’ truck, and then Harris admitted to catching them to eat them.
They also took a .22 long rifle from his vehicle, and a pole he was using to catch the animals.
It’s illegal to take, kill or destroy gopher tortoises, as they are a protected threatened species.
Harris is in the Lake County Jail, facing possession/take of a threatened species charges
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